The Ekiti based Legal Giant and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Afe Babalola has petitioned the Inspector General of Police(IGP), Muhammad Abubakar A. on unlawful arrest, detention and eventual death of one Mr Kehinde Omotosho by the officers of the Anti-Cultism Unit of the Oyo State Criminal Investigation Department.
The letter of petition written on 26th July, 2020 was on behalf of Chief Afe Babalola signed by Oluwasina Ogungbade, ESQ and equally copied the Commissioner of Police, Oyo State Police Command Headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan, Oyo State.
The letter goes thus:
The Inspector-General of Police,
Nigeria Police Force Headquarters,
Louis Edet House,
Shehu Shagari Way,
Area 11, Garki,
Abuja.
Your Honour,
UNLAWFUL ARREST, DETENTION AND EVENTUAL DEATH (IN POLICE CUSTODY) OF MR KEHINDE OMOTOSHO:
A PETITION AGAINST OFFICERS OF THE ANTI-CULTISM UNIT OF THE OYO STATE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION DEPARTMENT
We are Solicitors to Miss Khadijat Omotosho (for herself and on behalf of other children of the late Mr. Kehinde Omotosho), and have her instructions to present to you, this Petition regarding the unlawful arrest, detention and eventual death of her father, Mr. Kehinde Omotosho, (hereinafter referred to as the deceased) on 21st July 2020 while in custody of the police officers attached to the Anti-Cultism Unit of the Oyo State Criminal Investigation Department, Iyaganku, Ibadan.
As we shall subsequently detail, this Petition has been presented to request urgent investigation of not only the propriety of the arrest and detention of the deceased in lieu of another person for a period of 5 days until his eventual demise but also more importantly, the circumstances surrounding his death which are rendered particularly suspicious and disturbing by a seeming attempt by certain Police Officials to cover up and distort the events leading up to this tragic incident.
Background
In the early hours of Friday, 17th July 2020 (at about 12:30am), several police officers from the Anti-Cultism Unit of the Oyo State CID stormed the residence of our clients’ father’s house at No. 2, Ifedapo Zone 2, Alaja Meta, Gbaremu, Idi-Obi, Ibadan, where the deceased resided alongside other tenants. The officers from the Anti-Cultism Unit were accompanied by some other police officers in Agugu Police Division, led by one officer identified simply as ‘SOJ’.
After breaking down the door of our client’s father’s residence, Mr. Omotosho (now deceased), the police officers demanded to see one Mr. Kabiru who, about 5 months prior to that time, had moved to another apartment in a different vicinity. Upon realizing that their prime suspect, Mr. Kabiru, no longer resided in the apartment, the police officers arrested the two occupants of the house – Mr. Omotosho (now deceased) and one Mr. Jelili Razaq – in lieu of the suspect. At the point of arrest, both Mr. Omotosho and Mr. Jelili Razaq requested to know the crime for which they were being arrested but instead, the police officers gun-whipped them with their weapons several times. Thereafter, the police officers from the Agugu Police Division (led by SOJ) returned to the Agugu Station while officers from the Anti-Cultism Unit proceeded with both the deceased and Mr. Jelili Razaq to the State CID. They were thereafter locked in the cell, alongside about 130 (One Hundred and Thirty) inmates. This was around 1:20am on Friday, 17th July 2020.
On Monday, 20th July 2020, the deceased and Mr. Jelili Razaq were brought before the Officer-in-Charge of the Anti-Cultism Unit for interview. In the course of the interview, the OC demanded that both the deceased and Mr. Jelili Razaq produce their prime suspect, Mr. Kabiru, before they could be released. However, both the deceased and Mr. Jelili Razaq informed the OC that they were all co-tenants, and that Mr. Kabiru had relocated to another place and did not inform them of his new location. Nevertheless, the OC insisted that their release would be consequent upon their production of Mr. Kabiru. They were, thereafter, returned to the cell. It was at the point of this interview that the police informed the deceased and Mr. Jelili Razaq that the prime suspect, Mr. Kabiru, was involved in a fight which led to the death of a person. There was however no suspicion or allegation that either the deceased or Mr. Jelili Razaq were involved in the said fight or committed any crime whatsoever.
The following day, i.e. on 21st July at about 5am, Mr. Kehinde Omotosho, our clients’ father, died in police custody. Prior to his death, the deceased spent 5 days in detention while Mr. Jelili Razaq spent 6 days before being released on bail, both without any investigation, reasonable suspicion of crime, or arraignment.
From the moment of their arrest and until the death of the deceased, the officers of the Anti-Cultism Unit prevented the deceased’s and Mr. Jelili Razaq’s family members from visiting them or providing them with food. Prior to his unlawful arrest, detention and death, the deceased had no underlying medical ailment.
Attempt to Cover Up
On 24th July 2020, the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) in the Anti-Cultism Unit, one Officer Ibrahim, deceived the sister of the deceased, Mrs. Sekinat Yusuff, who is incapable of reading or writing in English, to depose to an Affidavit captioned ‘Sworn Affidavit as to Consent to Receive the Corpse of Late Mr. Akeem Kehinde Omotoho’. The Affidavit, which was dictated by IPO Ibrahim to a road-side business typist, was only given to Mrs. Sekinat Yusuff, who did not understand the contents, to sign. The said Affidavit reads, in part, thus:
- That I am the sister to Late Mr. Akeem Kehinde Omotosho who died on Tuesday, 21st day of July, 2020 at the Nigeria Police Medical Services, State Headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan, Oyo State.
- That prior to the death of the deceased, the deceased person was earlier arrested and detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Iyaganku, Ibadan for an alleged murder.
- That the family of the deceased collectively agreed not to conduct post-mortem or autopsy to unravel the illness which led to the sudden death of the deceased.
- That the family had requested for the release of the corpse of the deceased from the Nigeria Police Force, Oyo State Command.
A copy of the Affidavit dated 24th July 2020 is attached for ease of reference.
The Position of the Law
From the foregoing facts, it is clear that the police officers failed to inform the deceased and Mr. Jelili Razaq the reason of their arrest, contrary to the express provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended) and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, which, among other provisions, regulates the procedure for the arrest, detention and arraignment of a person suspected of committing a crime in Nigeria.
Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution reads thus:
‘Any person who is arrested or detained shall be informed in writing within twenty-four hours (and in a language that he understands) of the facts and grounds for his arrest or detention.’
Likewise, Section 6 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 provides as follows:
‘Except when the suspect is in the actual commission of an offence or is pursued immediately after the commission of an offence or has escaped from lawful custody, the police officer or other persons making the arrest shall inform the suspect immediately of the reason of the arrest.’
On the strength of these statutory provisions, the failure of the police officers to inform both the deceased and Mr. Jelili Razaq of the reason for the arrest is in clear contravention of the law.
Equally, the arrest of the deceased and Mr. Jelili Razaq in lieu of Mr. Kabiru is also in flagrant disregard of the clear provision of Section 7 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 which provides that:
‘A person shall not be arrested in place of a suspect’
From this express provision, the arrest and detention of the deceased and Mr. Jelili Razaq in the place of Mr. Kabiru is clearly illegal.
Our Request
Our Clients, in the light of the facts presented above, require answers to the following questions:
Why were the deceased and Mr. Jelilil Razaq arrested in lieu of Mr. Kabiru?
Why were the deceased and Mr. Jelilil Razaq not informed of the reason for their arrest as prescribed by law?
Why were the deceased and Mr. Jelilil Razaq not allowed access to any of their family members throughout the period of their unlawful detention?
Why were the deceased and Mr. Jelili Razaq detained beyond the number of days prescribed by the Constitution?
What was the objective or motivation of the officers of the Anti-Cultism Unit in procuring an affidavit containing patently false depositions and making a relative of the deceased to append her signature to same?
What is the cause of death of the deceased who prior to his unlawful arrest and detention did not suffer any obvious or underlying medical condition or ailment?
In his lifetime, Mr. Kehinde Omotosho was an honest businessman and a responsible family man who, like every law-abiding citizen of this country, expected protection from the state and did not under any circumstance, deserve to have his liberty taken away without regard to the clear provisions of the law. In addition, and most tragically, his seven children on account of his unjustifiable arrest, detention and death, have now been been left without a father and breadwinner.
In view of this, we humbly request that you use your good office to set up an investigation into the allegations contained in this petition, particularly the circumstances surrounding the unlawful arrest, detention and eventual death of Mr. Kehinde Omotosho in the custody of the officers of the Anti-Cultism Unit of the Oyo State CID.
Please accept the assurances of our highest regards.
Yours faithfully,
OLUWASINA OGUNGBADE, ESQ.
Cc:
THE COMMISSIONER OF POLICE,
Oyo State Police Command Hq.,
Eleyele, Ibadan.
